Alex Thomas had loved baseball for as long as he could remember. From a young age, he would spend hours watching games on television and reading baseball books. His favorite thing to do though was look through his growing collection of baseball cards. It started with just a few packs he received as gifts but grew into a vast collection as he got older.
While other kids his age were into the latest video games or toys, Alex spent most of his allowance on packs of cards at the local sporting goods store. He would meticulously organize them in binders by team, player name, and year. His card collecting became an obsession. On weekends when he wasn’t playing little league himself, you could find him at his local card shop poring over the latest releases and trading duplicates with other collectors.
By the time Alex entered high school, his collection had grown to over 10,000 individual cards spanning many decades of the game. He had complete sets from the late 80s and 90s along with rookies of all the modern superstars like Ken Griffey Jr, Barry Bonds, and Derek Jeter. What really set his collection apart though was his dedication to the vintage cards from the early 20th century. These old tobacco cards were some of the rarest and most valuable in the hobby.
Through trades at card shows and purchases online, Alex amassed an impressive array of pre-war gems. He had 1909-1911 T206 cards of legendary players like Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Christy Mathewson. There were also high number 1914 Cracker Jack cards still in excellent condition. The crown jewels of his collection though were a 1911 T206 Honus Wagner and a 1909-1911 T206 Eddie Plank card. Both were graded mint condition by the top authentication companies. At just 18 years old, Alex now owned two of the most coveted cards in the entire industry worth six figures each.
Word of Alex’s incredible collection began to spread in the tight-knit baseball card community. He was interviewed for hobby publications and featured on websites dedicated to the vintage market. Card companies would even send him new releases to showcase and appraise. By his freshman year of college, Alex was considered one of the top collectors in the world under the age of 21.
Rather than sell off his prized possessions, Alex decided to pursue his passion as a career. After graduating with a degree in business, he opened his own vintage card shop in his hometown. Using his encyclopedic knowledge and industry connections, the shop became an instant success. Collectors from all over would visit just to look through his personal inventory of pre-war tobacco cards and consign valuable collections.
Within a few years, Alex expanded his business by launching an online auction site and partnership with a major grading company. He authored several books on identifying counterfeits and valuation trends. His Honus Wagner card was even featured in an exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. All the while, Alex continued adding to his own collection which had grown to over 100,000 cards, the largest assemblage of pre-war tobacco cards in private hands.
Now in his 30s, Alex is considered the foremost expert on vintage baseball cards in the industry. He appears regularly as a consultant on documentaries and gives lectures at card conventions. While the monetary value of his prized cards has increased many times over, Alex has no intention of ever selling. His lifelong passion remains sharing his love of the game’s history through these small pieces of cardboard that started it all for him as a kid. As long as there are new generations discovering the hobby, Alex will be there helping grow their collections and appreciation for the earliest stars of baseball’s golden era.
